Forty Fort removes 3 members of Civil Service Commission

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FORTY FORT — Council at Monday’s regular meeting voted to remove three members from the Civil Service Commission for actions that Board Solicitor Greg Skibitsky said were prohibiting the commission doing its job of hiring police officers for the borough.

Chairman Rob Swaback, Clerk Tony Smith and alternate member Robert Craig were among those removed from the commission.

Six council members voted yes to their removal. Council member Sara Michaels abstained from voting as she also serves as vice chair of the Civil Service Commission.

Before voting, Council Member Kristy Dadurka thanked the three men for their service and said she was voting to remove them “with regret.”

“I’m so sad that it’s come to this point of removing volunteers. I had really hoped that we would all be able to work together and move forward together,” said Dadurka.

Following the meeting, Skibitsky further clarified that council voted to remove Craig because he was “trying to hold onto power” as a voting member of the commission after he was already cycled back into an alternate role after the appointment of Christine Kutz.

Kutz was appointed back in May to fill the vacancy left by Scott Serafin, who resigned due to his current position on the airport board.

Craig had previously stepped in to temporarily fill Serafin’s position before Kutz was appointed as a permanent member.

Skibitsky said that Swaback was acting inappropriately by recognizing Craig as a voting member, “which was prohibiting Sarah Michaels and Christine Kutz from acting as the voting members of the commission.”

Furthermore, the solicitor said that both Swaback and Smith did not for the last several months comply with Mayor Brian Smith’s request for copies of the commission’s minutes and agendas, which he said culminated in the mayor having to file a Right-to-Know request.

A motion was initially made to appoint William F. Stone Jr., who serves as an alternate member of the commission, to the vacancy left by Swaback.

However, Council Member Phil Mertz suggested that council instead vote to advertise the position, which everyone seemed to be in agreement with.

The agenda was then amended to include that motion and was passed. Michaels once again abstained from voting.

Because the council must appoint a new permanent member to the commission within 30 days, council will hold a special meeting to do that prior to the July 15 work session.

If the Civil Service Commission needs to take any action in the meantime, it can utilize its two remaining alternate members.

Causing a Stir

Removing the three men from the Civil Service Commission resulted in a few heated exchanges Monday between council and members of the audience.

Both Smith and Craig addressed council during the public comment section, with Smith alleging that he was being removed by council in “an attempt to circumvent an investigation into the unethical and illegal conduct of members of the (police) department.”

Police Chief Daniel Hunsinger did not comment much on Smith’s accusations, but did say that they were a defamation of his character.

Following the meeting, Craig said that he believed council thought of him as “the Antichrist”and did not like him because he would “call them out.”

“This could all have been gone away with if they had just appointed me. This is a problem of their own making,” Craig said.

He also claimed that he should have remained in his position as a voting member because all of the matters that were in front of the board at the time were not yet resolved.

Skibitsky denied this, saying that “the business for which [Craig] was appointed as an alternate was concluded at the end of the meeting for which he served as a full member.”

Kutz also addressed council and called the last commission meeting “an embarrassment” filled with a lot of “vigorous argument.”

Kutz also stated that during that meeting, Swaback refused to acknowledge her as a legitimate voting member.

“Please do whatever it is that’s in your power to stop this continued attempt to hijack the commission because I assure you, if this sort of thing is allowed at such on basic level, the things that will come next will be far worse. The good people at Forty Fort deserve better,” Kutz said.

Of note, Council also:

• Approved to raise the hourly rate of pay to $8 dollars for fire police and fire fighters.

• Approved the purchase of Evolution 18 Solar Radar Speed Monitoring System, the cost of which will be

reimbursed by Wyoming Seminary Lower School.

• Accepted a low bid for park cameras from Acme Lock for $13,830.00

• Accepted the resignation of James Shedlarksi as Fire Chief of the Borough of Forty Fort

effective July 31, 2024.